Merit-based competitions for entry into the Colombian administrative career: an obstacle to youth transitions into the labour context

Abstract

The Social State of Law, currently in force in Colombia, mandates that all individuals should be able to fully exer cise their rights beyond mere formal written provisions. To this end, various strategies have been structured to contribute to personal, familial, and socio-economic development, among others. One of these strategies fo cuses on opportunities for access to public employment, through merit-based public competitions that enable the filling of positions within the administrative career. However, these competitions apply a uniform approach without a differential perspective for both young adults and adults. Therefore, the present article sets forth the following general research objective: to determine whether merit-based competitions for access to public employment within the Colombian State can be unders tood as an obstacle, rooted in natural variables such as age, to facilitate the current labour market transitions of young people. Grounded in a hermeneutic, socio-critical research approach, using qualitative methods that inclu de documentary review, the study concludes that certain criteria employed to assess young adults in merit-based public competitions result in structural inequities that hinder youth labour transitions in the public sector con text. Consequently, the article suggests strengthening strategies, including reasonable adjustments informed by differential approaches and the segmented applica tion of merit based on age-related criteria.